Interpol, Live at the Aragon, Only Slightly Belatedly Reviewed...

Hi kids, it's your Maise--once again, overworked, underpaid, and guilted into a new entry by our own B.C.

BC (02:03:37 p.m.): dude
BC (02:03:40 p.m.): whats up with letting PP slide?
BC (02:03:43 p.m.): no mention of the remix ep?
tragicmaise (02:06:57 p.m.): Dude, I'm plotting an Interpol concert review, and yes, we should cover the remix ep.
BC (02:09:12 p.m.): when did you see interpol?
tragicmaise (02:09:19 p.m.): Last week?
tragicmaise (02:09:24 p.m.): Yeah, last Thursday.
BC (02:09:32 p.m.): you do realize you're writing a blog, right?
BC (02:09:39 p.m.): that immediacy is one of the key features
BC (02:09:43 p.m.): that its not a monthly magazine?
BC (02:09:47 p.m.): ...right?
tragicmaise (02:09:52 p.m.): You do realize that I have a 54-hour work week these days, right?
BC (02:10:10 p.m.): I don't think the readers care.
BC (02:10:15 p.m.): ;)
tragicmaise (02:10:33 p.m.): All right, all right, I'll get back on it!

Last Thursday, Ro and I were happy to escape our respective workplaces, had a lovely meal at a French brasserie in the city, and reported to the Aragon to see Interpol on October 11, 2007. Our lovely meal, involving coq au vin and ravioli with brie, sliced artichokes, chives and a lemon poppyseed fondue, followed by an apple tart tatin and an exquisite "plat au trois chocolats" prevented us from seeing any of the opening act(s). (How's that for journalistic committment?) But fortunately we arrived in plenty of time for Interpol's set.

Ro and I were both very excited for this show and had been looking forward to it for months. I absolutely love Interpol and really enjoyed their set at Lollapalooza, even though it was performed in a driving rain in front of annoying drunken barefoot floozies in sundresses. And I thought that perhaps a more intimate show in one of Chicago's hippest and most famous venues would be even cooler.

Oh, and by the way, this is what happens to our exclusive visuals when Iris fails to accompany us to concerts:

I dunno. Overall, I felt a little letdown by the experience. Sure, all the favorites sounded great, like "Evil," "Slow Hands," "The Heinrich Maneuver," "NARC," etc. But it felt as though very little energy was being generated by either the crowd or the band. It could just be my encroaching fuddy-duddiness, but by 10 p.m., I was so done with this show. And that was before the encore. At one point during the encore, just after "Stella Was a Diver...", Interpol proceeded to jam. Okay, a) I was already fatigued from a long work day and an even longer work week, b) I HATE it when bands jam, and c) we all know that Interpol only plays two notes per song, and while they do that *awesomely* for two to three minutes at a time, they are the last band on the planet who should be jamming. It just fueled my sense that the show was never-ending, and not in a good way.

I know I'm hating on this concert, but I feel like I've seen Interpol perform much, much better. I wasn't any more exhausted after a day at work as I was after 12 hours of Lollapalooza in the rain, so I don't think my energy level was the sole reason for my cranky state of mind.

After the show, as we ran the gauntlet of unwanted flyers and bootleg t-shirts, we were handed free cans of Monster Energy. Oh, if only these could have been distributed before the show!

So, to Interpol I say: Forget the Heinrich Maneuver, it's time for CPR, boys!

Lollapalooza, Day 2

*sigh*

My dog is so awesome, guys. If she's not THE most awesome dog out there, she's totally in the top ten. I mean, just look at her! Here she is, sleeping with her stuffed bunny.

See? Awesome.

What was that? Oh, you wanted to hear about the second day of Lollapalooza? Well, sadly, boys and girls, yesterday's lineup (with one notable exception) really put the "snooze" in Lollapalooza.
Let's see...

By the time we got to Grant Park, got some food, made bathroom and bar trips, and got ourselves ready to actually pay attention to the music, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah was playing. Meh. They sound like every other hipster band playing this festival, only the lead singer's voice is really off-putting to me. We left their set early because a friend wanted to see Regina Spektor.

Oh, Regina! She seems like such a sweet lady, nooding on her piano in a quiet, heartfelt way. She's like Tori Amos on Prozac. She even *looks* a lot like Tori Amos. Unfortunately, she's way too soft spoken and mellow for such a loud festival...she was completely drowned out by everything else going on, and although I enjoyed her music, I also took a nap to it. At one point, she noticed one of her fans passing out in the crowd, so she stopped playing and softly called out, "Security?" Regina, hon, you need to be more assertive. More assertive about everything. Last year, Mr. Maise and I saw the Dresden Dolls on this very same stage...when Amanda Palmer inadvertently flashed the entire city of Chicago. Now *that* was a lively show!

(Iris) Now I really enjoyed Regina's show even though I'd never heard any of her songs before. She's cute as a button and has a lovely voice, just not one for crowd control. Her most adorable moments for me were when she simultaneously played the piano and a chair, not the same way Amanda Palmer plays her piano chair by rocking like a loon but an actual chair set up next to her and tapping away at it with a drum stick. Her other moment was when she sang a cover of The Beatles "Real Love". Mr. Iris and I were on our way to go check out the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs but when I heard the familiar chords I had to stop and watch (and also record). You couldn't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside.







For some reason, the side of Grant Park containing the Adidas and Bud Light stages was absolutely packed. (Although the lineup was pretty shitty that day and the weather drizzly, it was significantly more crowded Saturday than Friday.) So our little group decided to camp out near the Bud Light stage in anticipation for Interpol later that night. This meant that most of us were subjected to Snow Patrol next. But Iris did make an expedition to go see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and I'll let her fill you in on that.


Review coming but right now it's time to get on outta here so we don't miss Juliette and the Licks who I am ridiculously excited to see! I can't wait!

Ugh, Snow Patrol. The lead singer seems so good-natured and affable with a charming Irish accent...it's really too bad his band really sucks. Actually, most of their music is inoffensive in that "I don't really like it, but it's not the worst thing I've ever heard" kind of way. For the most part, if you have to be stuck listening to a mediocre band that is more popular than it should be, you could do worse. EXCEPT they are responsible for that fucking horrible "If I lay here...if I just lay here..." song. BARF! This band is really popular with the floozies wearing sundresses who dance around barefoot with a beer in their hands. They were all singing that song at the top of their lungs, and it was just like nails on the chalkboard of my soul. This was where we made bathroom trips, bar trips, food court trips, and in general just endured.

Patti Smith was up next, and she did a fine job, although the crowd was smaller than she deserved, due to the fact that it was raining at this point and that the crowd was filled with 19-year-old drunk and barefoot floozies wearing sundresses with their drunk frat boy boyfriends who probably have never even heard of her. Me personally, I'm not a huge Patti Smith fan, but I respect her. I wish her set had been more "Rock and Roll N*gger" and less "Because the Night," but you know...she's like 60 years old, so I'll give her a break. She was also a surprise guest on the kids' stage earlier in the day, but we weren't there, so I can't tell you if she frightened the children or not. (Apparently in 2006, she sang them some song about Lebanon and Israel with descriptions of body parts.) Some douchebag DJ from Q101 tried to cut her off by announcing Interpol on the stage across the field, but Interpol respectfully waited until she was finished.

And then finally, in a pouring rain...one of the most anticipated acts for me of this entire festival...Interpol! This dark and moody band was well served by playing outdoors at night in the pouring rain, and they did a fantastic job. Sure, they owe a LOT to Joy Division, but I have always loved Interpol for creating a certain atmosphere...every time I hear them, whether I'm in the car on my morning commute or at a music festival surrounded by thousands of drunk 19-year-olds, I feel as though I'm in some smoky bar, watching a hopeless love walk out the door with someone else. Their music is urgent and dour and yearning, and even though I was happy to get out of the rain and mud, I wish they had played that extra five minutes to take us to 10 p.m. On the other hand, I wouldn't want them to get electrocuted either, so I look forward to seeing them again live as soon as possible.





And that, my friends, was Day 2 of Lollapalooza. I probably could have skipped the entire day if it weren't for Interpol. However, Day 3 is going to be PACKED with good and/or interesting acts, and we will be there all day, starting at 11:30 with Juliette and the Licks. (We're hoping that Juliette Lewis busts out the spandex.) We'll be running back and forth to see Amy Winehouse (if the little lush shows), Iggy and the Stooges, Modest Mouse (who I am VERY psyched to see), and Pearl Jam, among others. More updates to come!